Sergio David Calzado Almenares was born on December 29, 1957, in Havana. His father was the magnificent singer Sergio Calzado, a descendant of a family of musicians. He studied violin at the National School of Art (120th Street between 9th and 13th Streets, Cubanacán, Playa, Havana), Cuba. His teacher was violinist Evelio Tieles Ferrer.

David began his career as a professional musician in the Pancho El Bravo Orchestra. He also played in other Cuban orchestras such as Estrellas Cubanas, Ireson, Violines de Tropicana, and Ritmo Oriental. In the latter, he began a career as an arranger of significant pieces during that period.

In 1988, Calzado joined La Charanga Habanera, along with other young musicians who graduated from Cuban art schools. This orchestra performed traditional Cuban music from the 1940s and 1950s, and its repertoire included genres such as Cha-Cha-Cha, Mambo, Bolero, and Guaracha. The band was formed to fulfill a contract at the Sporting Club of Monte Carlo. There, they shared the stage with great musicians, including Whitney Houston and Lola Flores, Frank Sinatra, and Tina Turner.

At this time, David also worked as the first violinist of the Tropicana Orchestra (Calle 72 No. 4504, Marianao, Havana), and he also made musical arrangements and dedicated himself to record production.

In 1990, David Calzado took over as director of La Charanga Habanera when they decided to consolidate their work as a formal group. The orchestra’s first performances took place at the Charanga Festival in Mexico.

In 1992, Calzado innovated the orchestra’s format, eliminating one of the violins and the cello, and introducing keyboards, bongos, and an additional trumpet, with the aim of achieving a much more modern sound and transforming the performance style.

In the hands of David Calzado, La Charanga Habanera quickly established itself in one of the most difficult and competitive salsa markets in the world in the 1990s: the Cuban market. During these years, the director of La Charanga managed to transform Cuban music and make the group a center of attention for both the media and the general public.

In the country, they performed at the Cabaret Caribe show at the Habana Libre Hotel (Calle L, corner 23, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana), at the invitation of the famous choreographer and artistic director Santiago Álvarez. In 1994, the album “Me sube la fiebre” was released. Many of its tracks became hits, reaching number one in audience polls on 24 radio stations across the country. Later, they toured Europe and participated in various festivals.

In Cuba they have performed in numerous nightclubs which are packed with people such as: La Cecilia (110th Street and 5th Avenue, Playa, Havana) and the Salón Rosado de La Tropical (41st and 42nd Street, Playa, Havana City), the salsa clubs and the Mella Theater (Line No. 657, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana).

Calzado and his Charanga have also toured many countries around the world on countless international tours, achieving great success in countries such as Chile, France, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden.

David has made his orchestra a heterogeneous project, not only musically, but also presents a true spectacle, ranging from the costumes to the stage design. The latter is realized through highly structured choreography performed by all the orchestra’s musicians, featuring acrobatic performances and deliberately sensual and provocative gestures.

David Calzado has masterfully selected the songs that make up his orchestra’s repertoire. They all carry an explicit philosophical and popular tone, always featuring the everyday as a characteristic that has become his main theme. The lyrics are lighthearted and feature choruses full of double meanings.

That’s why David Calzado has become a very special Cuban orchestra conductor, because his Charanga has broken all the predetermined canons for groups of its type, making it the favorite of the vast majority of the Cuban public.

David Calzado and La Charanga Habanera have received numerous awards both in the country and abroad: Cubadisco Awards and Lucas Awards. The orchestra has been nominated for a Latin Grammy.

Works: Blah, blah, blah, Rich Ricky, The temba, These are things that happen, Expert in love, My heart can’t give you more, Don’t throw the stone, Pleasure of loving, Tremendous atmosphere, A shot in the eye, Return to bed without fear, And he continued dancing.

Discography: Charanga Habanera, Volume I (1988), From Havana to Monte Carlo (1989), My Fever Is Up (1994), Hey You, Crazy (1995), So That Havana Finds Out (1996), Tremendo Delirio (1997), I’m Cuban, I’m Popular (2003), Marina Wants to Dance! (2003), Charanga Light (2004), The Havana Cyclone (2005), The King of the Charangueros (2008) and Don’t Look at the Cover (2009).